We all know that spending thousands of dollars on credit cards in a short period of time can be a difficult feat for many. How do we meet the spending threshold for 3 different cards by a certain date if I don’t spend that much money in a year? Fear not my friends, there are alternate methods and ways to spend money on your credit card that will cost you very little to no money at all! Here are some of the ways:
Amazon Payments: Anyone with an Amazon account can log onto Amazon Payments and fill out their personal info and attach a bank account. Once you have completed all the necessary requirements of opening an Amazon Payments account, they will verify your information, which can take 3-5 business days, and you will then receive an email saying you are approved and able to start sending money. Every month a person can send up to $1,000, using their credit card, to a friend, family member, colleague, anyone that you trust and who can instantly send you the money right back. Either they can send you money using their credit card or they can send you the $1,000 that you sent them right back to you. Once you receive the $1,000 into your account, you just withdraw the money into your bank account, which will take 5-7 business days, and you will have spent $1,000 on your credit card for free. If you and your spouse use a Chase British Airways card to send $1,000 a month to each other for a year, which gets you 1.25 points per dollar, you would effectively earn you 30,000 points in a year for free! When I use Amazon Payments, I like to do a three-way trade with two other people to avoid any problems with Amazon. I send money to my brother, he sends money to my dad, and my dad sends money to me. It’s as simple as that!
Bluebird: The famous Bluebird. Bluebird is a free checking and debit card from American Express that allows you to pay off your credit cards and other bills such as car payments, mortgages, and taxes. You need a social security number to sign up for the card but there is no credit pull from American Express for this card. Once you receive your Bluebird, go to a CVS store and find the Vanilla Reload cards that sell in the gift card aisle. Vanilla Reloads are reloadable cards that most places only allow you to purchase with cash. However, most CVS stores will allow you to purchase Vanilla Reloads with a credit card which are transferrable to Bluebird or can be used to upload into your banking account at your bank. You may also upload Visa gift cards that sell in most stores onto your Bluebird by taking it to the Walmart ATM machine found at all Walmarts. If you are having trouble uploading your card at the machines, you can take your gift cards to the Walmart Cashier who can upload the cards onto your Bluebird for you. Make sure you create a pin for your card, because the gift cards will act as a debit card. You can upload up to $1,000 per day onto your Bluebird for a total of $5,000 per month. You can then use your Bluebird balance to pay off your credit card statement. If you use your Chase Ink card to purchase Visa gift cards at an office supply store, then you will be earning 5 points per dollar spent!
Gift Cards: If you are looking for a way to extend the date of your signup bonus deadline, then gift cards are a great option. If you like to shop at T.J. Maxx, or grocery stores, or Amazon, or even buy gas station cards, then gift cards can be a great option for you. Otherwise, if you do not want to limit yourself to specific stores, you can purchase Visa, MasterCard, or Amex gift cards and use those like a regular debit card instead of your credit card. If I still need to spend $1,000 by tomorrow in order to meet the spending threshold of $5,000 in 6 months with my American Express Starwood Preferred Guest card, then I will just go and buy $1,000 worth of Visa gift cards with my credit card and use those cards for regular daily use.
All in all, make sure you are on top of your spending bonuses and your credit card payment dates. If you do that, then you will be able to reap the great rewards of so many great credit card reward programs.